Athlete of the Month shortlist for Best Team

Germany, Oct 16, 2012: The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has revealed the shortlist for the Best Team of the Month for August and September combined based on performances at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, and the public can now vote for the winner on www.paralympic.org.

The finalists for the team award include:

– Australia wheelchair rugby: Star player Ryley Batt led Australia to the wheelchair rugby Paralympic title with a win over Canada in the gold-medal game to collect the country’s 32nd gold of the Games. Australia finished as the only undefeated team in the wheelchair rugby competition.

– Bosnia men’s sitting volleyball: Bosnia altered the outcome from Beijing 2008 in London, beating arch rivals Iran in the men’s sitting volleyball title match in four sets at the ExCeL. Nizam Cancar and Isa Zirahi finished the match as joint top scorers with 15 points apiece.

– Brazil football 5-a-side: The Brazilians remained the kings of football 5-a-side with their third straight Paralympic title after defeating European champions France, 2-0, in the gold-medal game. Brazil was led by Jeferson da Conceiaco Goncalves, or “Jefinho,”who is one of the world’s best on the pitch.

– Canada men’s wheelchair basketball: Canada, led by dominant scorer and rebounder Patrick Anderson, picked up their third Paralympic gold in the last four Games in London. With a win against Australia in the finals, Canada exacted revenge from the Beijing 2008 result and solidified what could be a future dynasty in wheelchair basketball.

– China women’s sitting volleyball: The London 2012 women’s sitting volleyball final mirrored the results of the last two Games, as China defeated USA in the title game to secure a Paralympic three-peat. Minimal disability player Yu Hong Sheng was China’s top performer throughout the Games.

– Finland men’s goalball: Finland shocked the field in the British capital by unexpectedly making the goalball title game and then dominated Brazil, 8-0, in the final to win gold. Petri Posio scored four goals in the final and 16 in total at the Paralympics to help Finland win their first gold in the sport since the Atlanta 1996 Games.

– Germany women’s wheelchair basketball: The Germans defeated Australia for gold at the North Greenwich Arena in London, bettering their silver-medal finish from Beijing 2008 with the help of a 19-point performance from Mareike Adermann.

The public now has until 12:00 (CEST) on 23 October to vote for their favourite team performance.

Because of the London 2012 Games, the IPC did not have an Athlete of the Month for August or September, but rather will have three award winners for those two months. These include the Best Male Athlete, Best Female Athlete and Best Team from the London 2012 Games.

To help compile the shortlists for each category the IPC took nominations from the National Paralympic Committees and International Sport Federations that took part in the London 2012 Games.

Italian handcylist Alex Zanardi has already won Best Male Athlete of the Month and USA’s cycling star Muffy Davis has won Best Female Athlete of the Month. —- IPC